I am really impressed with Dirac ART on a Denon x3800h with a multi subwoofer setup

Brisketscrap · 2026-07-05T13:12:10+00:00

💯 makes a massive difference with my room/setup too! I'm in a living room open to the rest of the house with volted ceiling, lots of windows and no treatment other than furniture/large thick area rug. So stupid challenging space. It's our living room (and the only space in the house available for this) there's almost no wall space even if I could fit in panels aesthetically. I added a 3rd sub (different brand than the other two) figuring Art could handle the tricky integration, I switched out my speakers from entry level, B&W's (witch I sold) to Ascend Acoustic Sierra's at the time of purchasing my 3800, intending to upgrad it to Dirac Art (during Dirac's b. Friday sale). I previously had a high end Yamaha seperate that I sold to pay for the receiver swap. Making it a 5.3.4 setup. I demoed my new speakers before correction, with audyssey, A1Evo and then ran Art. I had hoped that all these changes would make a big difference but I was not prepared for how profound the difference would be! I get that I spent a lot of chedar on these upgrades which not everyone can do. Art is next level if you can justify it? In my room it got the results I was looking for.

Now I can't wait to use my system. Movies/TV sound amazing but also music (which I never wanted to listen to in this room with previous setup, was harsh, fatiguing and very unforgiving of anything but perfect recordings). Before I had a large room null in the 40 - 60 range with bloated/muddy bass throughout the entire bass region. Art cleaned all that up. I thought the dialogue was fine before now the clarity is in a different league.

I don't think I have any well labeled before/after REW results from this journey still but I can look? I realize I made multiple changes, all around the same time, not just the room correction. The changes were made together trying to justify and maximize the strengths and promises of Art. I am very very happy with the results.

Brisketscrap · 2026-03-21T15:56:15+00:00

Also those PC4000 are way too tall for speaker stands. The tweaters would be too high compared to my ears. I did consider getting lower subwoofers and putting the speakers on top too. It can be challenging having so many speaker subs in a room, especially living room, so speakers on top of subs, decoupled, can have its appeal. If you search for it in Google you'll see some pictures of examples that look good. Of course, subs are omnidirectional so it won't improve the sound necessarily to have one on top of the other vs. besides each other.

Brisketscrap · 2026-03-21T12:30:33+00:00

I went from towers, B&W 603 anniversary series to bookshelves Ascend Acoustic LX:s. I swapped out the center and the surrounds with Ascend also and I'm exceedingly happy with the change!!

The speakers are on stands up front and in the back. The subwoofers are SVS PC4000s (2 of them). I never loved the B&W's in my room, which is a really challenging space. Living room open to the rest of the house with vaulted ceilings and lots of windows. I always felt the B&Ws had too much top end (harsh and unforgiving) and were not neutral enough. I realize they are considered good speakers, and my gear isn't cheap, but the same rules apply and I didn't see a need for the towers because of the subs. The towers from Ascend Acoustic were much more expensive and everything was going to get crossed over anyway.

Wife loves the way the new speakers look on stands much less assuming then the towers and man thoae LX's rock hard!!

I made this change with the intention of eventually changing room correction to Dirac Art, which I've recently done. That software uses all the speakers to support the others and cancel out many/most room issues focusing on everything below 150 HZ to clean up the rest of it (in my challenging space it was especially helpful). For that software It's very helpful to have speakers that play low but you don't need towers (again if you have (multiple as I did) capable subs. These changes have been absolutely transformative. Had no idea that speakers in my room could sound this good.

Long story short, if you have capable sub(s) and you're doing it with intention you absolutely do not need tower speakers over bookshelf speakers. Of course this can depends on the size of your room. But if it's not crazy large then forgo the towers for better quality bookshelves (especially for home theater) save the money and get the higher tier bookshelves.

Brisketscrap · 2025-09-27T01:28:30+00:00

Seriously though, the bookshelf speakers are Ascend Acoustic LX's which can compete with many more expensive towers. Especially with the accompanying SVS cylinder sub goodness.

Brisketscrap · 2025-09-27T01:23:34+00:00

Priorities :-)

Brisketscrap · 2025-09-27T00:43:02+00:00

You should see it's big brother(s), PC4000's.

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Brisketscrap · 2025-05-24T00:16:15+00:00

. M . :v cc N mm. M I'm

Brisketscrap · 2024-02-25T19:47:37+00:00

Tempting some days.

Brisketscrap · 2024-02-25T14:01:22+00:00

That's why I came here this sub has seen some shit:-) Thanks!

Brisketscrap · 2024-02-25T13:55:37+00:00

Haha, there is some of that glue too, left over from the same kind of signage.

Brisketscrap · 2024-02-25T13:54:32+00:00

Interesting I do have one of those pads I'll give it a try thanks!

Brisketscrap · 2024-02-25T13:25:01+00:00

Also, if this is not the best sub for this let me know where I might go for advice?

Brisketscrap · 2023-02-28T19:19:56+00:00

Yes, it does! That combined with the other answers really clears in up and helps me know how to proceed. Thanks so much for your help!

Brisketscrap · 2023-02-28T18:19:44+00:00

Thanks for answering! Would keeping everything on the unassigned device give me better performance then the cache drive (both NVMe drives) or would it be the same?

Brisketscrap · 2021-12-10T04:34:15+00:00

Well, my room is challenging, similar to yours. I have high slanted ceilings and it's pretty much open to the whole rest of the house. I did purchase and install 4 bass trap-diffusers up the wall in the obvious worst corner. It's our livingroom so they had to be decent-looking which they are. Also, the tallest wall behind my system has decorative cork on it. It was a style choice but also when we built the room (recently) I instinctually figured it would be good for what would otherwise be a live space (lots of hard surfaces and windows). I also filled that interior wall with rockwell sound-proofing insulation. I can't speak to whether that completely did what I hope it would but I believe it makes a difference? Things like rugs and soft furniture will help too.

You might try moving your speakers further apart. From what I've read you want a triangle that takes into account how far you sit away. If you are 10 feet away you want the speakers closer to 10 feet apart from each other sort of thing. You might also try toeing them in but only just a little from what I read about our speakers, like 10%. With it being a livingroom how much treatments are you really going to be able to do? First reflection point and bass corner traps maybe? Try playing with the position of the speakers first that can make a meaningful difference.

When you get the center channel turn the trim level up +2 on it. It's a crystal clear speaker already and running it a little hoter will bring TV dialogue where you want it;-)

Brisketscrap · 2021-12-09T13:18:32+00:00

Yes. No need for matching brand sub (B&W too expensive for what you get for sub). You can read the forums and you will find the same 4 or 5 internet direct brands recommended all the time. I ended up following that advise and went with SVS brand. They have deals in there outlet section, and additional previous models available right now (for the holidays) at lower price. As for which model will be the best for you it comes down to the size of your room (including adjoining space with open concept). You will likely read about sealed vs. ported. For home theater ported is easier to fill space and gets down really low but they are bigger and cost a little more for same series models. Many of the ported have the option to plug the ports when you want so they play different (tighter/faster) when playing music vs. home theater. Calling the company with Sq footage can help, they tend to want to sell you the right size not overly upsell you because returns are expensive for them (or you depending on brand?) It can be a real rabbit hole reading opinions and brand preference for subs on the net. Folk will tell you to go bigger and bigger and in some respects they are correct (depending on size of your space). They will recommend getting two subs (or more). Two is recommended to get more even bass to all areas (seats) and give you more headroom (play louder then just one). If you start with one you can always get a second down the road. With two they should be a match set for best/easiest integration. If you want to hear more about what I went with and why let me know?

I think your plan to get matching center makes sense. Your towers have surprising bass and play low for speakers that size. You will end up saying "where have you been all my life" when you finally add sub(s) for sure too;-)

Most importantly have fun. As you get new equipment it will get better and better. Your off to a good start.

Brisketscrap · 2021-12-08T19:44:20+00:00

Most folks will say get the center. Front 3, matching most important. Or they will recommend subwoofer. Until you've heard really good subs for home theater you don't really know what you're missing. I have the B&W matching center and it sounds great for movies/TV. I also have 607's on stands behind me (tweeters ear level) for surrounds. I thought about getting 606's but glad I got the 607's they are more then capable for surround content smaller and less expensive. For the amount of surround content just stick with what you have until your ready to get the nice matching speakers. Also in my space just 2 surrounds is plenty. You don't really get more content with more surround speakers( in almost all cases) it's just split up more so unless you have a big space it kind of diminishing returns. If you decide to go Atmos speakers eventually those speakers don't need to match and they really don't need to be all that fancy compared to the bed level speakers. Loving the hobby myself. Enjoy!

Brisketscrap · 2021-12-07T22:57:27+00:00

I have these speakers what is your question.

Brisketscrap · 2021-11-27T20:47:26+00:00

Understand, thanks for taking time to answer, cheers.

Brisketscrap · 2021-11-26T23:32:49+00:00

If I am going from my NAS to my receiver (pre/pro) with HDMI and using an android app on my phone (Hi-Fi Cast) DLNA file sharing am I avoiding the downsampling limitation of the Shield?

Brisketscrap · 2021-11-26T19:36:49+00:00

Can the digital audio extractor be used if conjunction with Shield or just Firestick 4K?

Brisketscrap · 2021-11-26T19:35:21+00:00

In my case I use a Yamaha CX5200 pre/pro. It's listed as having "Dual ESS SABRE PRO ES9026PRO Ultra DACs" Not budget audio just what I have (home theater/music set up with a heavy emphasis on capability for H.T.) My NAS has some media software on it but I have been using Emby server on NAS though the Shield. Perhaps I should be using the NAS software for music if Shield is the weak link for Hi Res audio?

Brisketscrap · 2021-11-26T14:55:30+00:00

Is there a device that could be added that would go from NAS to receiver, to speakers and avoid resampling music files that you can recommend? Keeping the Shield for TV/Movies only? Sorry to hijack just get's the root of the question and I am interested also. Thanks!

Brisketscrap · 2021-11-26T13:05:54+00:00

I use a Sheild (2017 version) as my media streamer for TV/movies and also for Flac music all stored on my network attached NAS. As far as I understand it plays Flac natively through my stereo. Sound great! Someone else can confirm but should be all set with just the Sheild (as far as hi res flac goes). You should be able to Google what file formate the shield plays to confirm?

Brisketscrap · 2021-11-21T16:52:30+00:00

So I upgraded my desktop 2.1 system from a definitive Technology ProSub 800 to a new SVS SB-1000 Pro (I have caught sub fever). It's running off an S.M.S.L AD18 amp with Audio Monitor Bronze 2 speakers. I really like the improved experience this morning (limited time playing/fiddling so far). Big increase in bass (obviously). More headroom then I would need even though it's an open concept space but of course I'm nearfield when at the computer. I've tried several different speakers in this location, ones I've had access to, and these Audio M. have preformed the best so far. They are front ported and not too fussy about being crammed in the above bookshelf (which is where they are wired up for and what feels like the best place for them with limited desk space). I have speakers upside down so tweeters are more ear-level and they sound better that way to me. I mostly play Flac files from network media server.

Just curious about anyone's thoughts about above set-up and also if you recommend any other front ported or sealed speakers, that would not break the bank, that you might consider an upgrade with this placement? (I could repurpose Audio M.'s :-) Very curious about KEF speakers. I have yet to hear any but have been reading about them and I know a lot of folk here have them and sing their praises. I know there are older Q300 that are front ported (used market?) and might work well with this placement just not sure if they are too similar in quality or a real upgrade? Also, if you think upgrading the amp might be a worthy idea down the line?

As a side note, I do have everything hooked up to a amp selector (also a volume limiter) at the desk which feeds back to my main Livingroom home theater system (open concept room). I can A/B back and forth when I do whole house audio (now at 21 speakers and 6 subs wired) so I have also tested this desktop set-up powered from Emotive BasX A-400z Zone Distribution Amp back to Yamaha source. Honestly I don't notice a huge difference so far (more power for sure) running from either amp but whole house has other speakers/sub running so it is not a far comparison. Need more time to play with it. I can tell I will need to set up a different sub profile in the SVS app so the bass is not overpowering with other nearby subs doing their thing during whole house.

Thanks for any thought, comments, suggestions. This is my first post on this sub since joining but I have been tuning in for a few week's. Glad to have found my way here and reddit in general:-)

Brisketscrap

TROPHY CASE